Retail Ink: 34% of men? Just call them mall-averse

Everybody's offering me the perfect angle these days on the frenzied holiday shopping days that now loom in the weeks ahead.

Let's see what you think. Here's a sampling of what's filling up my e-mail inbox:

• Many men would rather spend time on famously unpleasant activities than go to a mall, according to a poll conducted for Yahoo by Harris Interactive.

More than a third - 34 percent - of all "online adults would rather do laundry than go holiday shopping in the mall. Men, in particular, are mall-averse, with almost one in five men (18 percent) saying they would rather do their taxes, 33 percent preferring to wash their car, and a quarter of men (25 percent) saying they would rather shovel snow."

• The poll found the same tight-spending mood that a torrent of other research has noted: More than a quarter (27 percent) of holiday shoppers said their holiday budgets will be smaller compared with last year.

I also was favored with the results of a survey that Nielsen Customized Research conducted for eBay's online PayPal service. Among online adults:

• More than a third (34 percent) of males said they enjoyed shopping for their partner, compared with just 17 percent of women.

• Almost two-thirds of shoppers (64 percent) said they plan to give gift cards, and 57 percent said they prefer receiving money or gift cards in place of other presents.

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• Men would prefer to meet Jennifer Aniston (27 percent) under the mistletoe rather than Angelina Jolie (17 percent). Only 4 percent of men picked Britney Spears.

Among women, George Clooney was the top choice (29 percent), followed by Johnny Depp (22 percent) and Brad Pitt (11 percent).

Those last results scream for comment, but I'm going to decline. I'd rather hear from you, and the best printable reactions will be included in a future column.

Readers usually respond effusively when I ask for input. But you were silent after last week's column, in which I urged dedicated Black Friday shoppers to get in touch with me.

Is that because I asked for cell phone numbers? OK, I won't try to call you while you're elbowing your way to the front of a line for a 70 percent discount at 6 a.m.

But you still can help shape the Mercury News coverage of Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving that's famous for its importance to retailers' bottom line. We need:

• Your advice. What tips do you have about parking, finding the perfect gifts and making your money go the furthest?

• The retailer perspective. How are you preparing for Black Friday? What are the hidden challenges for merchants? What's a bonanza and what's a nightmare that day?

• Anything else you care to tell us. Is Black Friday a family ritual? Do you use brick-and-mortar stores only to scout what you're going to buy online? Where are the best bathrooms that the hordes don't know about (yes, that will mean giving up a secret).

E-mail is the best way to respond to me but feel free to call. I know you're out there.

No recall - yet The Consumer Product Safety Commission said this week that it's investigating the possibility that there's a dangerous level of lead in the Fisher-Price Medical Kit's toy blood-pressure cuff.

To its credit, Amazon.com pulled the kit off its site after researching the issues about the toy raised in an article by Consumer Reports magazine. Mattel, Fisher-Price's parent company, claims the toy meets the requirements of federal regulations.

The commission has been overwhelmed this year by recalls and investigations; let's hope it eventually clarifies whether any risks are posed by this well-known and long popular toy.